Farm Group Hits Out at Glanbia Milk Cuts

Liquid milk committee chairman Teddy Cashman has attacked the creamery for its ‘drastic’ cuts of 2.5 cents per litre for September contracts.

He said this will hit farmers ‘harshly’ as winter begins.

“The unwillingness of Glanbia until now, despite strong lobbying by fresh milk producers, to apply flexibility in the band system they operate means their suppliers only benefited from half of the creamery milk price increases in the past 12 months, but are now taking the fullest brunt of the price falls. Even their recent concessions do not change this fact,” said Mr Cashman.

The IFA Liquid Milk Forum in July showed how farmers producing liquid fresh milk have ‘significantly’ higher production costs, he added.

“If the highly volatile global dairy commodity markets are to be the sole base for their remuneration, suppliers will be driven to reconsider their commitment to year-round production, which will endanger the security of locally produced fresh milk for Irish consumers.”